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When i was in primary school we hatched a incubator of chicks, they are SOOO cute. we kept them for a few weeks and then gave them to a petting zoo-- or so we were told, I hope they didnt go to the butcher :(

If I live outside the city one day (as I hope to) I would like some chickens to have fresh eggs.

Not me, I'll buy mine at Albertsons, thank you. This stupid ole' rooster we had would roost up in the trees. Even in the winter. I think it was crazy or the dye went to his brain. The man down the street from us tried to ring his neck for jumping on his wife and finally ended up shooting him. Told ya, he was one mean rooster. Ukkkkk I can't even watch movies about voodo where they hang the chicken feet up, ohhhhhh ukkkkkk.

My family has had many unique pets throughout the years. We used to get bus loads of children from the surrounding area visiting as part of their field trips.

Many had never seen a farm animal before and had no idea that eggs came from a chicken. They just thought they came from a carton at the store.

We had one group touring the farm that especially enjoyed watching the chickens taking a bath in their sand pile. They giggled and laughed and coaxed on their favorite hens. All of a sudden, a hen started clucking and sat in the sand, laying an egg. One little girl was so excited, she was jumping up and down, clapping her hands. She said "Do it again, do it again."

I've now run into many of those same children, who are grown up with children of their own and they tell me how they enjoyed getting up close to the animals, petting them, collecting feathers and memories.

What I think is cute (even though I would be afraid of them too) is the little bannie chickens. Did I spell that right?? Anyway, with the feathers down on their little feet and they so prissy and fiesty, now I think they are cute. I don't know, I'm wierd like that I guess, I just have a phobia when it comes to chickens. I want even eat chicken.

A close friend of my mom's used to have a chicken farm(?) It was basically a huge coop - full of chicks. It was like walking into a field of yellow cotton balls. I used to go in there and scoop up the chicks in armfuls. To my horror, I realized that there were squashed chicks on the ground and ones that were paralyzed, etc. It was an awful place and I had to leave, but I'll never forget all those cute little chicks, thousands of them. It's actually horrifc how chickens raised for food like that are treated, all stuffed in cages...

I rescued a chick from there who had some kind of broken neck, his head was basically tilted backwards so he couldn't eat or anything and he was going to die. I tried to hand feed him and stuff but after a few days he died. So sad.

I couldn't eat poultry for a loooong time after that, but I can't help it, I love boiled eggs.

sandblagbu: You are close, it is Bantum or Banty chickens that are the smaller breeds. Not all have feathers on the legs, many are mini versions of the bigger breeds of chickens.

I did raise Olde English Game Birds also. OMG, my little rooster was a hoot, very handsome and the cutest little cock-a-doodle-doo. He'd fly up to the top of the gate and perch there in the morning, doing his wake up call. They are very small birds, nicely colored, although the hens are duller colors. We'd laugh when we heard him crow, it was such a little squeaky call.

You may be thinking of Cochins, with the feathers on the legs. They also come in a variety of colors, beautiful little birds, not as small as the Game Bird chickens.

The Silkies are an interesting breed of chicken. At the time, they came in either black or white, I haven't raised chickens for years, so their could be other varieties by now. They have an almost silky, hair type feather. You've never felt anything so soft. I had the white Silkies, they come complete with the top knots on their heads. If you haven't seen them, do a google search for Silkie chickens, really neat.

There are even the banty version of the Rhode Island Reds, which is what Chicky was, although he was not Banty. I think Reds are my favorite breed of chicken, maybe because that is what my first pet was.

This thread has made me remember of when I was a little girl. I was probably around 7-8 years old and I lived in a farm. We had a blind hen that I got very close to and I would give her a daily pill (I do not remember why I had to give her this pill) but I remember one day she was gone. I never knew what happened to her and for a while I missed her alot.

Now, that my sisters and I are adults, every so often they tiss me about my hen friend.

okay maybe not a gret question for this thread but i was curious.......all these fancy chickens.....do they raise them just for showing and stuff or do people eat them ? do they taste like a regular chicken or do they taste different ?

Scout: You can eat the fancy chickens, eat their eggs or show them, even have them for pets.

When you ask about the meat tasting any different, the only thing that comes to mind are those capons, which would be the equivilent of a neutered chicken. I believe that they neuter them young and bulk them up. Not sure they would taste any different, but would have more meat per bird.

There are actual poultry exhibitions, much like a dog show. Exception is you wouldn't lead your chicken around on a leash in front of the judge. Normally the judge and his/her assistant would judge the bird in it's cage and then take it out and handle it, checking to be sure it is up to standards.

We had an awesome judge at our state fair, he worked there up until his 80's and was a wealth of knowledge about birds. He was a past exhibitor, turned judge. I learned a lot from Matt and every year, I'd go back and visit with him at the poultry barn. We'd walk amongst the rows of cages birds and he'd tell me which birds were the best of breed.